Bronx Gang Member Gets 7 Years for Antigay Torture, Sodomy

Nelson Falu, a member of the Latin King Goonies, tortured two teens and a 30-year-old man for hours, all while subjecting them to antigay slurs.

BY Neal Broverman

August 10 2013 3:57 PM ET

A 20-year-old member of Bronx’s Latin King Goonies gang was sentenced to seven years in prison for his involvement in the 2010 torture of two teenage boys and a 30-year-old man.

Prosecutors say eight gang members tortured the three individuals for hours, beating them, chaining one to a chair, sodomizing two with plungers, and burning them with cigarettes while screaming antigay epithets at their victims. Nelson Falu, one of the gang members, pled guilty to a robbery charge on Friday, receiving seven years in jail. Prosecutors did not seek a trial because they did not want the victims to relive the horror of the experience.

Two other gang members took guilty pleas in June and the cases against the other “Goonies” are pending. While this crime happened three years ago, New York City is experiencing a recent upswing in antigay hate crimes.